Monday, 4 November 2013

Testing times for hiring managers

Testing times for hiring managers

Hiring a new PR practitioner is difficult. Good PR’s are great at telling a story (well, they should be) so it has always been important to conduct robust interviews that put candidates through their paces. That’s what good recruitment consultancies do and it should be how they earn their fees.

Getting it right is, however, more important now and arguably more difficult. Supply and demand dictates that candidates try harder and tight recruitment budgets mean that organisations are more cautious than in the boom years. Making a mistake is costly. Filtering through a recruitment consultancy that you trust is more important than ever before but relying on interviews is not always enough. Personality profiling is increasingly seen as an integral part of the hiring process.

Candidates often don’t like these profiling processes. There is a natural fear of ‘failing’ what is often thought to be a test. Well, they aren’t tests. They provide a highly accurate assessment of what makes the person tick: how do they work as part of a team? What motivates them? How do they respond to various management styles? Do they get easily bored? The results of these profiles are eerily accurate. And they are becoming increasingly invaluable in putting together teams and hiring the right kind of person for the job. Justin Kent - Managing Director